Flyington Freighters orders Airbus A330-200F for entire fleet

Flyington Freighters promoted by the Reddy family, promoters of one of India&apos;s largest newspaper groups, Deccan Chronicle and Odyssey the retail chain, has selected the Airbus A330-200F freighter for its entire fleet and signed a firm order for six aircraft, re-affirming its earlier commitment. The contract was signed on May 9th in Mumbai.

Flyington Freighters Ltd was the first cargo airline to buy the A330-200F, and will be world?s first operator of the new aircraft. The A330-200F will join the Flyington fleet in the second half of 2009. The A330-200F is the newest freighter from Airbus and the newest member of the highly successful A330/A340 Family. The freighter received its industrial launch in January 2007.

"We opted for an all Airbus fleet of freighters because the A330-200F offers unbeatably low operating costs and significant operational benefits. The aircraft is new, modern and designed for today&apos;s business needs. The aircraft will gives Flyington Freighters a solid springboard for success in the rapidly expanding Indian freighter market", said Venkattram Reddy, Chairman, Flyington Freighters Ltd.

"Flyington Freighters will be India&apos;s first international dedicated freighter airline and that coupled with the development of locally based freight operations, will play a big part in the huge growth of the region&apos;s cargo market. Flyington Freighters, have chosen a fantastically economical, fuel efficient and productive aircraft that will stand it in good stead. The A330-200 freighter has more lift, more range and better flexibility than any other freighter in its class. We&apos;re delighted that Flyington Freighter Ltd is a launch customer", said John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers.

The A330-200F is the only mid-size, long-haul all-cargo aircraft capable of carrying 64 tonnes over 4000 nautical miles / 7400 kilometers in "range mode" configuration, or 69 metric tons up to 3200 nm / 5930 km in ?payload mode.? The A330-200F offers 30 percent more volume than any freighter in its class.

One of the many advantages of the A330-200F is that it is the first freighter to introduce a versatile main-deck cargo loading system, which can accommodate both pallets and containers, enabling operators to service each of these very different markets.

The A330-200F is a derivative of the very popular A330/A340 Family which has sold more than 1000 aircraft worldwide and has around 100 customers and operators to its credit. The large number of A330/A340 aircraft in service will enable a smooth introduction of the new all-cargo variant into existing fleets. The A330-200F will also benefit from, as all the other Airbus aircraft in production, the now well recognised Airbus Fly-By-Wire technology enabling faster pilot transition to and from other Airbus aircraft, both passenger and freighter.

Airbus is an EADS Company.

NOTE: For accredited news media with access to the Airbus Website&apos;s password-protected Press room, a presentation on the A330-200F is available for downloading. This presentation was made by Dr. Kiran Rao, Airbus Executive Vice President - Marketing & Contracts, in Mumbai on May 9. The document is located at the bottom of the Press room page, in the "Presentations & speeches" area.